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Do you know how to sell yourself in interview? Have you ever had a question where you have not been able to work out what the interviewer was asking? Here are top 10 interview tips. As someone said on Twitter, these are not rocket science, but really timely reminders of the basics.

1.Research the organization:

Everyone gets nervous in interview. It’s a big occasion and you should be nervous. However if you start with some thorough research, you start to build a case in your own mind of why you should be sitting in that interview room or in front of a panel. Having some confidence is a solid first step to overcoming nerves.

You can actually tell a lot about an employer from the employment pages of their website. Things such as the values they have, how easy it is to find out about potential jobs and their responses to you when you apply, can all tell you about the way they handle their recruitment. If a career page has an email contact for an employee, and invites contact, then do it.

2.Research the role:

One thing that constantly surprises is that how few people really have any understanding of the role that they are applying for. Job advertisements are partly to blame for this, because hey are often misleading.

Very important is a real insight into the role and the recruitment process. Dig deeper than the advertisement. Put a call through if a contact number is provided. You can find out which of the skills that the employer requires are actually the priority. You can determine what you can do without and importantly you can start to make yourself known (in a good way) to your future employer.

Ask them questions about the recruitment process, what the steps are, how long each step takes, and whether they’ve had many applicants. You’d be surprised at the information you’ll receive if you sound polite and interested.

3.Research yourself:

Employers want you to be self aware. Have a long hard look at what you have achieved, the way you have achieved that result and the skills you developed or demonstrated along the way.

This type of reflection helps you understand your strengths. It gives you confidence and helps you overcome nerves.

4.Interviewer insight:

Depending on the organization and the role, you could be interviewed by a recruitment consultant, the HR department, the line manager, all three individually, or any combination. Each will have a different agenda for the interview.

The recruitment consultant is always the first screener. Their role is to match you to the employer’s requirements and sell you as an applicant. Make the consultant’s role easier by focussing on your strengths and achievements and point out why you are a good match.

5.Practice:

Most organizations now use behavioural questions – which means they will be expecting you to provide specific examples of where you have demonstrated the skill they are seeking. However never rote learn your lines as you can never predict all the recruiter will ask. Memorising answers will make you stressed in the interview if you can’t recall what you want to say.

6.Build rapport:

Be friendly. People like that! One of the best ways to relax is to assume the interviewer is on your side.

7.Give yourself time:

Leave plenty of time to get to the interview. No matter what excuse you have, lateness is noted. It creates a negative impression and it puts you behind immediately.

8.Please be yourself:

That is please be yourself. You will be doing yourself no favours if you try and suppress your personality, or pretend to be something that you aren’t.

9.Relax:

While you think this may be the perfect job for you, it may be that it’s not. There are other jobs out there. If you keep this in mind then you’ll remove some pressure from yourself that this is your only chance to perform.

10.An insider’s tip:

Each interaction you have with your future employer feeds into the bigger picture of their impression of you. Be polite and friendly with whomever you meet in the process from the very first phone call to the last goodbye to the receptionist on your way out.